tag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:/blogs/blog?p=2Blog2022-09-05T16:43:57-04:00The Stage of Dreamsfalsetag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/70536552022-09-05T16:43:57-04:002024-03-17T13:09:20-04:00Wacken Battle USA 2022 National Round<p>We were thrilled and honored to be representing the Northeastern Region of The U.S. for The Wacken Battle USA 2022. The National Round was being held at The Viper Room on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California.<br>The winner of this round would go on to Germany to compete at Wacken. Just Going to Hollywood and performing on the Sunset Strip was a dream come true. It was so exciting!! We had heard so much about it and many of our favorite 80's Hard Rock and Metal icons got their start right there on Sunset Blvd.</p>
<p>Before we even got to Hollywood there was such a buzz about us winning the Regional. It felt good to finally have some vindication for all of our effort through the years. We were written about by And Grey in The Warren Tribune and Youngstown Vindicator and we were even interviewed On air at Channel 21 WFMJ.</p>
<p><a contents="The Stage of Dreams Interview on WFMJ" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/YouZaDD3FD8" target="_blank">The Stage of Dreams Interview on WFMJ</a></p>
<p>The best part was all of the messages and phone calls from people sending there support to us and wishing us victory. </p>
<p>The entire Hollywood experience was quite awesome and I could be here writing a book about it though getting to the main point here, we were ready for this battle. Our set was tight and all the covid restrictions were lifted. It was time to rock.</p>
<p>When we arrived at the Viper Room, there were already a few bands waiting outside on the side walk. They all seemed cool and gave us some insight on the venue and what to expect. I was a bit surprised that we were staging all of our stuff on the side walk outside but it is California and it rarely rains there. We stood outside for quite a while and Eric The guy in charge of The Battle had a few words with the club about it. It was nice to see someone on the bands' side. Once we were finally let inside I was a bit shocked at how small the room was but it did have a really cool vibe about it.</p>
<p>Our time slot was 11 pm pst. So our people back home would have had to stay up pretty late to catch our set. Thankfully we had 20 that made the trip with us. We can't thank these Family members and friends enough for making this trip and cheering us on. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/336991105c2e71fc4a2699cf15e45b27bbce7c59/original/a6408532.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The song playing right before our intro music started was Rock'n is Ma Business by Alabama Thunderpussy. I had heard this song before but now it will always have special meaning because at that moment it was perfect.</p>
<p>Waiting for the curtain to part seemed like forever. When it did we launched into Strong is The Way and the crowd was rocking hard. In between songs I gave my best Stage Master dialogue possible and I have to thank my son Caden for reviewing everything with me and even giving me some ideas. Next We launched into I am Vampire then Metal Rebellion and Dragonfly. Lastly we finished with In The Killing Backwoods and I'm still kicking myself for not pulling out the lantern during the guitar solo. I got a special suitcase just for this lantern, flew all the way across the country and failed to pull it out of my gig bag,lol. In any case I feel we did a great job and it brought a smile to my face when our crowd was chanting Stage of Dreams!! Stage of Dreams!! </p>
<p>Obviously we didn't win and go to Germany but we are grateful to have been apart of this competition. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>4:04The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/70536242022-09-05T15:39:10-04:002022-09-05T15:39:10-04:00Wacken Battle USA 2022 Regional Round<p>In Round 1 we were the first band of the night and there was a decent size crowd in front us. For this regional round we were the fourth band to go on and The Empire was totally packed. We were pumped and couldn't wait to hit the stage. The thing I was most concerned about was the tear down and set up time. There was a total of fifteen minutes for the previous band to get off the stage and for us to get on the Stage. This included Switching out the drum sets, getting all the mics in place, getting the amps on stage, plus setting up the backdrop and a getting quick line check on all the instruments. That's really only 7 minutes and thirty seconds to set up. Thanks to our crew and the professionalism of Paum the sound guy everything went smoothly. </p>
<p>I'm getting ahead of myself a bit and I'd like to mention that I rehearsed a lot of the details for this performance. Now I didn't know exactly what I was going to say during the talking parts but I had everything planned out as far as when I was going to pick up my staff and when and where I was going to put it down and when I would take off my sun glasses, lol. I originally had planned to have two mic stands, one normal one and one for the killing backwoods song but one of the other bands must have accidently taken the normal mic stand so I used the Killing Backwoods one the entire set. This definitely worked out better and somehow at the end of the night the normal mic stand reappeared. Maybe it was some divine Intervention going on there. Anyways we were up against some tough competition but I believe our crowd was the most enthusiastic of the night and they really inspired us and added a ton of energy to our performance. </p>
<p>At the end of the night when Seth from SBS Live was roasting all of the bands a bit he said our main inspiration was ABBA and that if it wasn't for ABBA there would be no Stage of Dreams!! We laughed our asses off at this, though our laughter quickly turned to cheers when he said to the road to Wacken goes through The Youngstown/Warren Regional airport Congratulations to The Stage of Dreams!!</p>
<p>I myself was truly surprised and had no expectations but of course I wanted it to be us. Through all of this I had thought it was amazing just to be apart of it and maybe we could get noticed some. </p>
<p>Well now it was on!! The Stage of Dreams was going to Hollywood to compete on the Sunset Strip for The Wacken Battle USA 2022 National Championship!!</p>
<p>One of the coolest thing about all the bands were how they congratulated us and told us to go kick ass in Hollywood.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/02ae6e1ced97130e96afbe6aea94cc1a8b7b000c/original/20220326-232306.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/2828dd26d57395a138097a7a89a3059bfcd7edb6/original/20220326-211455.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/c52a7f9b489182ef4a7ad7b54b4705b5bf6f475d/original/277464220-1412394239181226-2010592113571187479-n.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/70165682022-07-17T11:11:06-04:002022-09-05T14:58:10-04:00Wacken Battle USA 2022 Round 1<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/3c18a536b8001efb60fc4761034fb7b7c0982a99/original/akron-round-1-winners.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Long before we performed our first set at The Empire Concert club in Akron, Ohio as part of the Wacken Battle USA 2022 contest, I was just hoping we would be accepted into the battle. I had dreamed of being a part of this festival longer than I care to admit.</p>
<p>The timing couldn't have been better. I was scrolling through facebook and I saw to my excitement that the Contest was being held at The Empire Concert Club. I quickly jumped up and ran down stairs to tell my family "My band is Doing this!!". Of course we still needed to record something metal to submit. We were currently in Phase 2 of The Stage of Dreams but we didn't have anything to submit recording wise. So I waited patiently and eagerly at the same time. We embarked on the recording process in the spring of 2021. I didn't want to use any of the Rock Opera Songs and with all the down time due to the nasty virus we had compiled some songs outside of the Heavy Opera. We ended up at a super high end studio in Pittsburgh, PA and for the first time ever we hired a producer. The Studio we chose was called The Vault and our producer for what turned out to be our E.P. "From The Shadows They Strike" was Dave Hillis. We even hired Maor Appelbaum to do the Mastering. So there's a lot more to that part of the story but to get back to the point our first song was ready to release right before the deadline for the contest entry in the fall.</p>
<p>I still remember where I was when I got the message that we were accepted into the contest. I was with with my family in Cleveland and of course I was overly excited again, lol. As it ended up we would be performing in Round 1 at the Empire on January 29th (2022). </p>
<p>Just to be apart of this contest was thrilling to me. I already knew that it was going to be tough to win. With so many different styles of metal how were the judges going to choose? It was anyone's guess.<br>The week of the Show our one guitarist got the vid and we called in a good friend of ours Jimmy Carsone to Fill in. I think we were all a little nervous that something could go wrong but to our delight we advanced to The Regional Round.</p>
<p>Now things were getting real. We were one step closer to Germany.</p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/64026592020-08-05T12:38:40-04:002021-09-05T18:58:28-04:00A couple of cool things happened this week.<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/16573ab5daed1fbe5eeb87714f05d03d057ebb3f/original/stage-of-dreams-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJjb250ZW50LnNpdGV6b29nbGUuY29tIn0=/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Reunion With The Enemy</strong> - Got added to a weekly playlist and The Stage of Dreams got a mention at WWW.METALPERVER.COM </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Link to Playlist <a contents="Metalperver Haftalik" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/61pm6uPbesg3iY6MrBzECB?si=T5Oncn1tTiWAyvgjJL-1rQ">Metalperver Haftalik</a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">"THE STAGE OF DREAMS right behind it is another name that stands out with its vocals. I liked how the American band combined traditional metal dynamics with storytelling."</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Reunion with The Enemy</strong> was also added to a playlist on Rock Era Magazines website</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><a contents="The Headbangers Riffs" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.rockeramagazine.com/mag/index.php/articles/music-reviews/music/item/3032-the-headbangers-riffs-playlist-w">The Headbangers Riffs</a></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Killer in My Dreams</strong> got added to <a contents="This is your hottest Playlist" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75yRUgYXcaAosl2NyIEW7T?si=2QHCigttRRylyhM83o5ukw">This is your hottest Playlist</a> Pretty Cool!!</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Our songs won't always be on these playlist but we'll leave the links here anyway.</span></p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/63297452020-05-25T15:57:43-04:002022-09-05T14:56:40-04:00NIGHTCRAWLER<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/40b719dd2ea07f72c3e4e63a4d8ad26d6bbe1514/original/nightcrawler.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">Nightcrawler was a band with a dark side vibe. Heavily influenced by Black Sabbath.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">The one thing we did together outside of band practice was attend Heavy Metal Concerts. If Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or Dio came to town we were there.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">In the nineties Heavy Metal was pushed far underground but that didn't stop the best bands and the true at heart from keeping it alive in The United States. It did however make it difficult to keep a band like Nightcrawler together.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">I joined as their bass player at the beginning of the Grunge era. I didn't really have a lot of experience. I did play in a couple of cover bands and I had tons of lyrics and a few original songs that I had wrote though I knew from the start that these guys were on another level. I wasn't a shoe in for this gig that's for sure. I kind of just kept showing up for practice until the spot became mine. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">The commitment by Cat, Hanzel and myself was unwavering. We rehearsed anywhere from 3 to 5 nights a week for many years. If we had a show then it was 5 nights for sure. I think a lot of people wouldn't have been able to handle all of this repetition with very little reward as we did. We took great pride in playing these songs to perfection. Unfortunately this band never had a fully committed vocalist the entire 7 years I was in this band. It was painful and frustrating mentally but with grunge and the terrible trendy culture of the United States what the Hell else were we to do. We loved playing metal and even without vocals it felt good to perform and even create some new songs.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">As I said previously I joined the band when grunge was taking off. Right at this time Nightcrawler was finishing up the 2 song Lost Messiah Demo. All the parts were done except a few vocal parts and mixing. They had taken the feedback they had received from Metal Blade and the famous producer Beau Hill (I believe that was the name on the letter CAT showed me). Taking the band more in the direction of their song "Eternal Call" which appeared on Metal Blades "Metal Massacre Volume Eleven". In my opinion "Lost Messiah" is Nightcrawler's best song. "When Darkness Falls" is one of my favorites as well. Originally Darkness Falls was going to be called Sarah which Hanzel often called it at rehearsal. We sent the demo out to various labels, college radio and a few places for review. The reception was freaking frigid and one awfully undeserving review from a true wanker at the U.S. Rocker compared the band to dead worms on the sidewalk. I hope the trendy guy that wrote that review chokes on a mouthful of dead worms.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">On a brighter note the band was receiving fan mail from over seas. Occasionally fans from places like Germany, Greece and Italy would send letters stating how much they loved Nightcrawler's music and they couldn't wait to hear more. It wasn't like there were hundreds of people sending fan mail but at one point I took the stack of about fifty letters and wrote back to everyone of them thanking them for their support and promising new music was on the way. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">New music from Nightcrawler wasn't something that came easy. Not having a fully committed vocalist made this a bit tough, though when I first joined the band we wrote 4 songs and Tommy Thompson actually made it to enough rehearsals for us to play a handful of gigs. Our first show was on April Fools day opening for a Black Sabbath Tribute band at a place called The Cleveland Cafe'. It was a great show and totally gave me the wrong impression as to how the future was going to unfold. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 24px;">It was 1995 and we started recording the four songs I was part of writing with the band, Revelation Genocide, No Faith In Tomorrow, Walk In The Dark, and War Torn. When it came time for Tommy to do his part in the studio it was obvious he hadn't been rehearsing and it became apparent that he had to go. So the search was on to find a new vocalist. We must have tried out 40 different singers. Almost all of them were terrible. It was like American Idol before American Idol was even thought of. Nightcrawler Idol,lol.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">Now I was a bass player then but after the experience of trying out so many sucky vocalist, it inspired me to take singing lessons. I took these lessons and learned just about every Nightcrawler song. At that point maybe I wasn't good enough yet because CAT and Hanzel wouldn't go for it. They said it took them 2 years to find me on bass so that was that. We practiced for a few years without a vocalist. Eventually a great vocalist did come along to help us finish the four songs we had recorded in the studio. His name was Jim Hamar. Now if Jim would have committed %100 to Nightcrawler I am sure we would have got signed but at that time it just wasn't the case. I am glad he helped us as much as he did in 1998. We got the 4 song CD done and I felt like we had just climbed Mount Everest but we lost a couple of guys along the way. First Tommy and then Mike Hanzel. Mike had left our band to tour with PRO-PAIN and eventually moved to another state. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">One highlight after the release of the Nightcrawler CD was that we got to perform at Cleveland Metal '99. One of my friends from New Castle,PA, Bill Winkler came out and did a great job on the drums. This was pretty much it though. Everything from this point was down hill for me as far as the band went. I hung with Cat until 2001. I had moved back to PA and practices were few and far between not because I couldn't make it but rather we just didn't have the personnel.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 24px;">It would be several years before I would see Nightcrawler again. I believe it was 2005 at the Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles Concert. When I heard they were a part of this show I had to be there. It was so great to see CAT and Jim again. I was glad to catch up with CAT and I was truly happy he had kept the band going and they sounded AMAZING.</span></span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/434eaa1d45c40abcc7f9440ee887afefb108f0ef/original/nightcrawler-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 24px;">Hey Look at me!! I'm the guy second from the right playing the Rickenbacker 4001.</span></p>
<p> </p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/63284862020-05-24T11:49:59-04:002022-09-05T14:57:00-04:00EDWARD BE THY NAME<p><span class="font_xl">So far we haven't played nearly as many shows as we'd like but when Edward Be Thy Name makes an appearance it's an exciting event. Some Iron Maiden fans will drive for hours and book hotels to come to our shows. Knowing this cranks up the pressure a bit,lol. I mean we wouldn't want to ruin anyone's Saturday Night. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/44bd64b0588264c570bdc8f35e9e25aff58902ab/original/edward-pic2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 24px;">Going back before Edward Be Thy Name Started I had never really thought about forming a tribute of any kind. So what triggered the flame for the idea of singing for an Iron Maiden tribute? First off Iron Maiden is my favorite Metal Band. Secondly when my cover band Haymaker would perform Run To The Hills people would totally freak out. Some well respected musicians would occasionally suggest the idea of forming an Iron Maiden Tribute. It didn't take much convincing on my part to give it a shot.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 24px;">The first attempt at forming an Iron Maiden Tribute failed. I put adds up in various places and I didn't get much of a response. I got more of a negative response than anything. I received messages like "No club owner in their right mind will book you" and "Pittsburgh already has a tribute so you are not needed." </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 24px;">Of course I didn't respond to these idiots. I kept searching and found a group of guys up around the Cleveland,Ohio Area. It was about a two hour drive for me to get there but I made the trip a few times. These guys were really cool and I thought we sounded pretty damn good but there were a lot of scheduling conflicts and we couldn't get together as much as needed to do it right. So I kind of shelved the Iron Maiden Tribute Idea. That is until several years later when my friend Darren who happens to be one the best guitarist I've ever known, asked me if I'd be interested in forming a tribute to Iron Maiden.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 24px;">I said Hell Yeah!!</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">This time around though I was going to take a different approach so it wouldn't just be like here's two guys looking to start a tribute. We agreed to put ads out stating Iron Maiden Tribute holding auditions. My cousin owns an old school building and he was fine with us using the big room on the third floor which was great but there's a lot of steps on the way to the top. To make a long story a little shorter we had a few people show up for the first audition. From this first audition we landed our Steve Harris other wise known as Tim Frederick. Right away we knew this was the guy. Totally a no-brainer but we had to honor everyone's request to try out. We actually had a handful of bass players and about ten drummers that wanted to be a part of this band. Our biggest issue was trying to find a second guitarist. Can't have an Iron Maiden tribute without at least two. Our worries about the second guitarist were over after Darren and I went to one a few mobile auditions we had set up. By mobile audition I mean we went to jam with other people at there places of practice. Anyway, when we jammed with Shaun McConnell (Drummer) and Jim Carsone (Guitar) we also new these were the guys to complete the line up. We cranked out about twenty songs from memory and thought yep this is it. Once again we had to give every one else a shot and it would be a week or two before we informed everyone of the official line up.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">This was so exciting to finally have a complete band and we rehearsed for about six months before we played our first show. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 24px;">Our first show show was at a place called Fat Guys in Austintown,Ohio. There was so much anticipation in the air and the response to the invites to this show were through the roof. The music community in Youngstown,Ohio was ready for something new to the area that had the potential to be so Kick Ass. All we had to do was nail this show. I remember being quite nervous before hand which is nothing new for me. We were all chomping at the bit to get out and perform the songs of our Favorite Metal Band of All Time. I'll never forget when the band started playing Wickerman which was the first song of the night. When I came running out and instead of grabbing the wireless mic I dropped it before I even sang a note!! Thank God my brother Frank was standing right in front of me and he quickly picked the mic up and handed it back to me as if we rehearsed the whole thing,lol. It was perfect timing and I didn't miss a word. This is the primary reason why our promo video starts out as a slide show,lol.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 24px;">We created quite a buzz with our first show and that was the plan. Since then we have played several amazing shows. It seems there a few people who are stunned as to how successful our shows have been. People have told me "I didn't realize how many people like Iron Maiden." And that's the thing We love about Iron Maiden. They're huge because they've created a main stream outside of the main stream. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 24px;">Well I've babbled on long enough. If you enjoy reading The Butcher's Post you will definitely be hearing more about Edward Be Thy Name.</span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/a5e52bffe96a76646aa6b8f450e0855f41d1858f/original/edward-pic1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/60895572020-05-20T22:13:57-04:002020-05-25T18:22:37-04:00Opening For Skid Row<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/bddae1eefac2f86b7f5d95f0730bd7653849d8b0/original/1015798-581963075169875-1457256345-o.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjA0OHgxMzY2Il0%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1366" width="2048" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_xl">I was sitting in my cubicle in Pittsburgh, Pa going about my day job as an Electrical Drafter when I got a text from my bass player asking if I was available to open a show for Skid Row. I quickly responded Hell Yeah!!. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">This was going to be the biggest show I was ever a part of. Even though Sebastian Bach wasn't with them I knew people would come just for the name and the chance to hear them play, I Remember You, Eighteen & Life, Youth Gone Wild and many more great songs.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">The other cool aspect of this show was it was a Nationally Recognized Event known as The Steel Valley Super Nationals. There was Drag Racing and so many awesome freaking hot rods. Rock-n-Roll and Drag Racing now that's a winning combination.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">It was a beautiful day at Quaker City Motor Sports Park in Salem, Ohio. When I told the girl working the gate that I was with the opening band. She said "Hold on a minute" and radioed someone using a walkie talkie. Shortly after a guy came cruising up on a four wheeler and said follow me. We pulled in behind the stage and parked in front of a construction trailer.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"> As I was getting out of my car he said, "When is Tony getting here? "<br> I said," Who's Tony?"<br> He said "Aren't you in Skid Row?"<br> I said, "No, I'm in the Opening Band Haymaker."<br> "Well then you need to park over there" and he pointed across the drive way. "It's the same as here, except it's over there."<br> I said "Okay, no problem" and moved my car to the other side of the drive way.<br> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">I had arrived super early and had time to catch some drag racing which I thought was really freaking cool. That looks like a lot of fun. The following year when Vince Neil Played there you have to wonder if he took a run. "Top fuel funny car's a Drug for me". </span><br> </p>
<p><span class="font_xl">My anxiety and nervousness were really through the roof all day. It's kind of funny thinking back at how I was breathing. Big deep breathes like I was about to have a baby or something. Once the whole band had arrived I went back to the back stage area. This was the first time to my knowledge that a concert was going to be part of the Super Nats, which could explain why there was no security around the stage or anything set up to prevent people from just strolling behind the stage and going where ever they wanted. I was Standing there talking to some of my friends when a guy and his wife said hello to me and introduced me to their two kids. They started talking about how much their kids love music and how it would be great if they could perform with my band. <br>I said, "Well maybe someday."<br>and the mom said, "They have their instruments in the car".<br>I responded with," I waited 25 years for an opportunity like this so it isn't going to happen today." I did tell them that at one of our club shows or maybe an all ages event that they could come out and play a song with us." I was a little taken back by the request but if you don't ask you don't get.<br> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">So things are running a little behind and we may not even get a sound check. As usual we just roll with it.<br>One of the guys from the stage crew looks my way and says "remember me?"I couldn't believe it! It was my friend and bass tech from when I played bass for the Cleveland heavy metal band Nightcrawler. It was so good to see Terry and I felt this was a good omen for the show too.<br>Terry always had my back and was quickly on top of any technical problem that would arise.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 24px;">When Haymaker hit the stage all the nervousness instantly faded. This was the biggest Stage I had ever played on and even though the crowd started a little scattered, with every song it continued to build by the hundreds. Eventually there were thousands of people rock'n out to Hay. I was never sure a moment like this would ever happen to me. There were times when the crowd cheered so loud that I closed my eyes for a few seconds to savor the moment. I thought to myself, this is what it's like to be successful. For this show I think we played for a little over an hour. It was truly one of the greatest hours of my life. </span></span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 24px;">After our set I went and hung out with my friends in the crowd as Skid Row put on a really good show. I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't mention us especially after their singer kept saying we're all in this together and that's how we're going to keep this music alive.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 24px;">When Skid Row's set was over we went to the back stage area and the Skid Row guys were more afraid of the people than anything. Some of our people tried to say hi and were hoping to possibly get an autograph but the band's reaction was unfriendly and someone went and got a couple of mini vans to create a barrier between them and the crowd back stage. With the lack of security I imagine that made them feel a little uncomfortable but I never got the feeling that they were in danger of being mobbed as if they were the Beatles.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 24px;">In any case I was glad that we played this show opening for one of my favorite bands. We were very fortunate to have this opportunity and we definitely elevated our game and our status in the local rock-n-roll scene.</span></span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/2e195bd9e87cbd49de5ac293d82d9528f5001903/original/994278-580914505274732-1767047277-n.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><a contents="Supernats Advertisement" data-link-label="867508-570691669630349-1227171068-n.mp4" data-link-type="file" href="/files/630616/867508-570691669630349-1227171068-n.mp4" target="_self">Download Supernats Advertisement</a></p>
<p> </p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/63221012020-05-19T06:26:33-04:002020-05-19T07:29:31-04:00The Executioner Character Reveal<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/0e6ffdc68f82b6588f03f511456bffa112607321/original/execfire.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">The Executioner is the first Character Reveal for the Stage of Dreams Heavy Metal Rock Opera. His actual name won't be mentioned until the unveiling of the first show which is still a ways off though creeping closer. </span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">The costume was made by Lisa Murphy a well known seamstress and true metal head out of Akron,Ohio.</span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">The White Cross was built by </span></span><span class="font_large">Scott Harrison</span><span class="font_xl">, <span style="font-size: 16.8px;">an avid music supporter in the Youngstown,Ohio area.</span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">When we posted the above picture on facebook the reactions it received ranged from awesome and love it to creepy as f#$k!!. </span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">It's kind of tricky introducing a character we can't really say much about at this time. I mean if we did The Stage Master would have our heads. All we can say is he plays a unique and meaningful rule in the Spiritual Universe. When asked what he thought of Phase 1 Contra-Fliction he kind of scoffed and said "The only song worth a damn was Reunion With The Enemy. Just wait til you hear the music from phase 2. Now that's in the ball park of guillotines and screams."</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16.8px;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/c326cf03832b325e8027779f38f119bddce984d7/original/crewpicrain-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16.8px;"> </span></p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/63062072020-05-05T23:31:14-04:002020-05-19T06:51:36-04:00Frustration<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/97cf7f77df1027d227c1b688d29ea2c70e49d034/original/frustration.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sometimes you have to put your head on the pillow and sleep. Then when you wake up, sleep some more. If possible repeat the cycle until you're tired of sleep itself. When you reach this point give your talents another go. Just maybe you will have some magic that you couldn't muster three days ago? If not dig through the archives and see if you can expand on a forgotten idea or phrase. The creativity will come back, the ideas will expand. They always do. Sometimes in burst. Sometimes in slow long drawn out months and years. How can it be that the things you are most passionate about seem so difficult to achieve ? How can it be you are near the summit of a life long quest and you may not make it those few hundred more yards needed to reach it. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">What can you do? Stay silent and wait and wait and sleep again.</span></span></p>
<p> </p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/63049742020-05-04T23:42:30-04:002020-05-25T16:57:41-04:00Cloud Cover<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/fcd9a531c70009fe886cfbe9969b82f418e154df/original/cool-pic-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">Cloud Cover was one of those songs I worked on for months and months musically. In the beginning I had a general idea as to how I wanted the song to go but something was missing and I couldn't seem to find the key until two things happened. one was my daughter bought a Fender Marauder guitar. I don't know what it is about that instrument but it feels like magic when I write with it. The other thing that happened was I signed my brother up to play one song with my cover band Haymaker. It was a dream of ours to play on stage together since we were kids. The song we chose to perform was Somebody Save Me by Cinderella. During one of our practices he showed me how he was using bar chords to play parts of the song. I applied the bar chord technique to the Cloud Cover idea and boom!! I found the missing link.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">Cloud Cover is the first song on Contra-. I chose to put it first because it didn't sound right to me coming after any of the other songs. Trust me I listened to all of the songs in every possible sequence. As with most of the songs on Contra- and Fliction I spent years singing them on my way to and from work with hopes of some day making them real. If it wasn't for The Stage of Dreams band this song would have never happened. I am very grateful that Shaun, Donnie and Jerry collaborated with me and put the time in to make phase 1 a success.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">Another Cloud Cover fact is it is the only music video we've made so far using fan video provided by The Stage of Dreams Stage Crew Group (facebook group). I must say it turned out pretty cool.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">If any thing else turns up with Cloud Cover I will write more about it right here. Thanks for reading.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;"><a contents="Cloud Cover Video" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/73i4OdKT_zI" target="_blank">Cloud Cover Video</a></span></span></p>
<p> </p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/60895562020-01-12T09:03:13-05:002020-05-25T18:26:36-04:00Opening For Warrant<p><span class="font_xl">It was several hours til show time and instead of resting and taking it easy before the show, I was outside with a shovel in the pouring rain. The Shallow creek outside of my house was threatening to overflow and I didn't want my basement to get flooded again. It was an odd year as far as the weather goes because we were getting downpours like we had never seen before so I was digging a temporary drainage ditch and piling up the mud along the front and side of my house. I had some mixed emotions going on inside my mind. I was somewhat angry that I was outside digging in the mud and getting soaked and I was also anxious at the thought of this show getting canceled or turning into my band Haymaker on stage playing to an empty field. After I was finished with my fortification duties I went inside and checked the weather. At this point things were still bad outside but according to the forecast there was a window of opportunity for this show to go on. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">By the time I had arrived at the Quaker City Motorsports park in Salem,Ohio the rain had stopped. I felt a sense of relief and was hopeful that this show was still going to rock. Besides the weather everything leading up to this show had gone fairly well except for the fact that our drummer was playing with an injured foot and of course there were the usual lowlife moves of other bands trying to steal or latch on to the show. It's definitely not the norm around the Ohio Valley area but there are a few who are willing to stab you in the back when they get the chance. In the past a promoter had received a phone call from a scum sucker stating that Haymaker has an injured band member and there's no way he's going to be able play a 90 minute set and we'd like to help out by taking some of that time. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">Anyway due to the rain there was a modest crowd in attendance for this Super Nats Show. Our intro music was playing and I was pumped to play for this crowd. As I ran out to the front of the stage with the grey sky as a dreary back drop and the wind gusting, I felt we Haymaker The Rock Band were unstoppable. This performance to me stands out as our best show. You would have never known our drummer was suffering with a fractured foot. He played his ass off. Even though it took us a few songs to really pull this crowd in, from the very start it was evident that we were happy to be there playing the Rock-n-Roll music we love so much. After we were finished with our set I felt like a real Rock Star. The people in the crowd wanted our autographs and I was in quite a few pictures. Ha ha ,one guy told me that him and his wife were sitting around their camp fire and when he heard us performing Magic Power he said come on honey we gotta go over to that the concert, Rik Emmett is over there.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">So that was our show and it seemed to me that Warrant the headliner didn't really get the crowd response we did because it was a sucky circumstance for them and on this night they were a band just going through the motions. Don't get me wrong they sounded great and their vocalist Robert Mason is top notch. Like I said they just didn't seem to really be that into it.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">I have to admit, it was a little disappointing that the guys from Warrant weren't willing to get a picture or even socialize with us but really no different than Skid Row. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">So on our way home from the Super Nats the year before we hit a deer and the bad luck continued cause when I got home from this year's show all of my pre-show work was for nothing. We had no power and a foot of water in the basement. I guess that's how this program is written, if something really cool happens something else equally uncool has to counterbalance it out. Rock-n-Roll My Friends \m/</span></p>
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<p> </p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/60895552020-01-12T09:03:13-05:002020-04-17T23:52:40-04:00Opening For Vince Neil<p><span class="font_xl"> It was a real challenging year for me Personally. I injured my leg and hit my head while ice skating and wasn't able to get in as good of shape for my band's upcoming show at The Steel Valley Super Nationals as I would have liked. It would be our second time performing at this event. The previous year we opened for Skid Row and got to perform in front of Thousands of People. This year my hard rock'n band Haymaker would be going on before the Legendary Vince Neil. I was super psyched for this show. I was a huge Motley Crue fan and had seen them many times in concert. Even though on Crue Fest I felt Vince wasn't singing the songs well I believed with the Super Nats show Vince was going to come out with all guns a blazing. The year was 2014 and it was June 21 just a couple of weeks before Motley Crue was to launch out on to a farewell world tour. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_xl"> So it's show day. The skies are grey and rainy. The Ground is soaked and the stage is in a big field at Quaker City Motorsports Park. I'm there with my band getting our gear setup on the Stage. The Stage manager calls us all together to have a little meeting and informs us that we are not allowed to go in the white tent. That white tent is for Vince Neil and his band only. We say okay No problem.<br> A little while later a local radio station DJ celebrity friend of ours shows up and is going to introduce us to the crowd. We give him a Haymaker T-shirt and continue getting ready for the show. He wasn't there for the meeting and didn't get the message about the white tent being off limits.<br> The rain had stopped for a while and there was a decent sized crowd already in attendance. It was decent for us anyhow because we're use to playing for much smaller crowds in pubs and bars. The music starts and I'm still back stage waiting for my cue when suddenly I get a massive phlegm attack and start coughing a lung. I spit out some nasty stuff take a drink of water and come running out on the stage with a big smile on my face. At that point I was worried that this could happen again during the show though fortunately it did not. Performance wise I would have liked to be a little more mobile for this show but overall I sang well and the band Kicked Ass. Even during moments of pouring rain the soaked crowd still got into the show and cheered loudly. <br>I was feeling real good about things as I was leaving the stage when we started getting screamed at to get our S@$t out of there and move our vehicles on the other side of the fence now and Hurry it the F@ck Up!! I was totally confused and was like what the hell is going on. None of us understood this until much later when it was revealed our DJ buddy who was wearing a Haymaker T-shirt went in the White Tent during our performance and took a beer out of the cooler and ended up in a verbal confrontation with Dana Strum. Oops. Which also reminds me that we were instructed to not even think about performing a Slaughter Song,lol.<br> Anyways after our 90 Minute set it's time for Vince!! Yes I can't wait!! The music starts for Live Wire and here he comes!! I have to say I was quite stunned. He was in the worst shape I've ever seen him in and his voice was just as beat down. I just went back to our merch tent and hung out for the duration of his nine song set. The one thing I can say is it was real. He didn't fake it and I have a lot of respect for that. People still loved the songs and had a good time. My expectations were just too high. I think that's the problem with me in general. A show like this means so much to me that I will get up before work and run a couple of miles 5 times a week for seven months just so I can be prepared. I'm sure I can be quite annoying too cause that's all I will mostly talk about for months before the show. Though Hey if you're not excited about it, why do it? I feel like from the start someone had put bad eyes on me or something from the leg injury, to the crappy weather, to the phlegm attack and to finally colliding with a deer on the way home and smashing up our van. I'd say yeah it definitely was some ill will wished my way, Though I will always have the moment on that stage with my band and I'd gladly pay those dues again \m/ . . \m/ </span></p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/558ff3752ab7e09474c917fb75a47f401f469083/original/10450037-769933849706129-4534184154349239324-o.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjA0OHgxMzY2Il0%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1366" width="2048" /></p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/003f3eac6602a92d24f60de9a701b6678763ae77/original/10339346-764293196936861-3773258845518876075-o.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6OTc4eDM4OSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="389" width="978" /></p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/60895542019-07-06T20:00:00-04:002020-04-17T23:58:31-04:00The Stage of Dreams You Tube Channel<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/b9df18a0dc07a5b2cdfc86b5c95ed6e18acb0f08/original/66445569-2813526575342400-1580480357847793664-o.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTAzMHgxNDY3Il0%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1467" width="1030" /></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">We achieved over 51 hours of watch time last month. Mostly due to the release of our Music Video for Killer In My Dreams. My decision to release this video only on youtube for the time being is mostly because a youtube view means someone watched the video for at least 30 seconds and in the case of this video a lot of people watched it in its entirety. At this point we don't have a lot of subscribers and to have over 1,000 views and 66 likes is a good indicator that our song and video is something that people genuinely like. Not sure how to get it to more people with out paying for it. I'm thinking I'll make some flyers and post them up at a few places. I don't have the budget to make it go viral so I suppose it will be there for current and future fans to enjoy which is who it mainly is for.</span></p>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/60895532019-05-31T20:00:00-04:002020-05-19T06:36:02-04:00Killer in My Dreams Video<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/045199cacf87bd51711f0cd81fa06550c7fce523/original/albumart-cwalb01604125-1400x1400.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">On Friday May 31, 2019 we released a video for our song Killer In My Dreams. We released the video as a YouTube Premier. We also had a get together at a local Pub called JR'Z Pub to celebrate as the Premier launched. We were watching on one of the venues large flat screens and with two minutes to go the youtube count down began. 120 seconds were all that remained until the unveiling of an audio visual work of art that required quite a bit of patience to achieve. We originally started recording the video in mid November. By We I'm referring to myself and Videographers Mike Chach Petrucci and David Caleris. I can't say enough about these guys and their passion and talent for shooting video. After we'd shoot a scene their excitement was contagious and made me feel really good and confident in what we were shooting, especially during the Nightmare scene with all the deer heads hanging on trees and burning torches. Then again these guys have shot a few horror movies so this probably wasn't that strange to them. Funny thing is we were contemplating cancelling the shoot for the nightmare scene due to the rain but beings deer season was going to be starting the following Monday we decided to do the shoot so as not to delay things for several weeks. Wouldn't want to be walking around in the woods during deer season carrying some nice taxidermy. It turned out this was a great decision because the cool rain generated a misty fog in the woods that created a natural effect we wouldn't have had if we didn't do the shoot. Another really neat thing that happened during this shoot was when I was walking with the cross bow and Dave said it would be great if we had some more light, and just then on cue the sun poked through the clouds and shined right on me. Dave and Chach said that was like a message from God and I thought maybe even my dad. Even though we shot in just about any weather the cold put an end to things because there was a lake scene that required the Lake not to be frozen. So waiting out the winter in Northern Ohio/Western Pennsylvania definitely requires a large amount of patience. The Winter added months to our schedule but when it finally broke we shot the camp fire scene. For this part I really wanted to demonstrate the great comradery I experienced through out my youth as I hunted with my Dad, my brother Frankie and friends. My Brother Frankie appears in several of the scenes and I'm so fortunate to have such an amazing person as my brother. Here's a little inside info on my bro, he was always a better shot than me. Now it's in writing,lol. So at this point we are about three quarters of the way done with shooting the various scenes. The lake is no longer frozen and we planned the next shoot. The next day we were all available it was pouring rain so we decide to do the end scenes and honestly I was thinking we should cancel but Dave said let's do it because last time we had rain and didn't cancel it made the shoot better. He was right and the parts after the guitar solo are just so powerful with the rain coming down while I sing All the time I needed you, You were always there. And the next chorus where I'm soaking wet and freezing cold is very fitting at this point in the song. We did have one mostly sunny day where we shot the grave and the lake scene. The timing of the pier shoot was just perfect because as soon as we were done a swarm of boats came in and I imagined how long it would have taken us to wait out all those boats getting off of the water. Sometimes things just work out and that's how the shooting of this entire video for Killer In My Dreams went. From the weather helping us and little things within the video that weren't planned like the little shooting star thing floating around during the silhouette imagery and even in one case where a scene I had envisioned didn't happen. In my original outline there was one chorus where I wanted each Stage of Dreams Band member to play weapons. The bass player would have been using a shot gun for a bass, the guitarist would be using a high powered rifle and the drummer would be playing air drums with a pair of deer antlers but beings no one would show up to do this I figured the video was better off with out this scene. Now after several days of editing and Chach and Dave overcoming some tech issues there we stood surrounded with friends watching the Premier Count down on a large flat screen T.V. in JR'Z Pub. Ten, nine, eight.....One...Show Time!! One of the best parts of this night was just hanging out and getting to know friends who have come out to see our bands so many times. We had several people watching on line too and it felt so good to see the views and comments from everyone who shared their reactions with us. </span></p>
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<div class="video responsive"><div class="video-container"><div class="video responsive"><div class="video-container"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="wrapped wrapped" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FC_PHqGJixU" width="560"></iframe></div></div></div></div>The Stage of Dreamstag:thestageofdreams.rocks,2005:Post/60895522019-05-24T20:00:00-04:002024-03-17T13:09:20-04:00Our First FM Air Play<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/400561/67bef1f23f7d25e7c463a6d90e81c9b3a1d691bf/original/wjcu.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_xl">Something very cool happened on Friday Night. Our song Reunion with the Enemy was played on <strong>WJCU</strong> by Legendary DJ <strong>Bill Peters</strong> on his radio show <strong>Metal on Metal.</strong> Bill's show has been on the air every Friday for the last 35 years!!! At this point in time I felt Reunion with the Enemy was our only song that would fit in with his program and I was quite excited when he messaged me saying they we're going to play it. I didn't ask what time he would be playing the song because I figured I would just listen to all 3 hours. When he introduced The Stage of Dreams he stated that it was our debut on his show. In reality it's the first time we were ever played on FM Radio. Hopefully not the last. Anyway my wife Wendy and our son Caden were listening too and when Bill said "I really like that Song" it brought smiles to all of our faces. Bill also told me that our song got a good response so that's the Best news of all. </span></p>The Stage of Dreams